Plans are underway for the restoration of the “eternal home” of legendary singer Sofka Nikolić at the City Cemetery Pučile in Bijeljina.
- - We owe it to our Sofka Nikolić to have a worthy place of eternal rest, so her chapel will shine in full splendor, befitting her name and legacy, says Bijeljina Mayor Dr. Ljubiša Petrović.
Sofka marked a significant period in the life of Bijeljina and Semberija, whose people adored her in her time, and so do their younger generations. A large mural with the image of the woman who, with her voice, stature, beauty, and kindness, endeared herself to the people of Semberija, although she was not born in this city but in Tabanovići, Mačva, near Šabac, in 1907.
As a young girl, she sang at fairs, attracting attention to herself. At 15, she performed in one of the most famous taverns in Zvornik, on the left bank of the Drina. "She married young to musician Paja Nikolić, the head of the Great Orchestra, and soon moved to Mostar," chronicle the historians. "In the local tavern 'Lira,' among others, she enchanted Aleksa Šantić, performing his 'Emina'.
Sofka's performances with Paja Nikolić's Gypsy orchestra in the "Kragujevac" tavern were broadcast live by Radio Belgrade. The first such broadcast was on December 11, 1929. Due to her large fan base, she was often invited to perform in folk music shows. She was called the "Queen of Skadarlija".
After four years in Mostar, Sofka settled in Sarajevo, and when she performed, not only the tavern but often the streets were crowded with her admirers.
She recorded her first record with the songs "Kolika je Jahorina planina" and "Kad bi znala, dilber Stano" at 19 in Berlin, and her second record two years later in Paris.
Sofka Nikolić was the first woman to be titled the best-selling female singer in Europe. At that time, she was the second musician in terms of record sales, after Italian tenor Enrico Caruso. She soon moved to Belgrade, and her conquest of the Serbian capital in the mid-twenties marked a change in public attitudes towards tavern singing.
"It's a great misconception to think that pre-war music was just cheap tavern music," say faithful and meticulous historians.
"Tavern life was very rich in those decades, and it was more a bohemian life than modern frivolity." 
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